When reminiscing about your childhood, you often talk about things you used to do or actions that were happening at a specific time in the past. In Farsi, both of these are expressed using the past continuous tense.
Forming the Past Continuous
Forming the past continuous tense is straightforward. Take the simple past tense (the past stem + the past personal endings) and add the prefix می to the beginning.
For example, using the verb خواندن (to read), where the past stem is خواند:
| Subject | Prefix | Past Stem | Ending | Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| من | می | خواند | ـم | میخواندم | I was reading / used to read |
| تو | می | خواند | ـی | میخواندی | You were reading / used to read |
| او / آن | می | خواند | (none) | میخواند | He/She/It was reading / used to read |
| ما | می | خواند | ـیم | میخواندیم | We were reading / used to read |
| شما | می | خواند | ـید | میخواندید | You (pl.) were reading / used to read |
| آنها | می | خواند | ـند | میخواندند | They were reading / used to read |
Usage 1: Habitual Past Actions
Use this tense to describe routines, habits, or repeated actions in the past. Words like همیشه (always) or گاهی (sometimes) often accompany this tense.
| In childhood, I always used to read stories. | در کودکی، من همیشه داستان میخواندم.dar kudaki, man hamishe dâstân mikhândam. |
| Grandfather always used to buy a new toy for me. | پدربزرگ همیشه برای من یک اسباببازی جدید میخرید.pedar-bozorg hamishe barâye man yek asbâb-bâzi-ye jadid mikharid. |
Usage 2: Ongoing Past Actions
You will also use the past continuous to describe an action that was actively in progress at a point in the past.
| He was talking with me about that memory. | او دربارهی آن خاطره با من صحبت میکرد.u darbâre-ye ân khâtere bâ man sohbat mikard. |
| The little sister was sewing clothes for the doll. | خواهر کوچک برای عروسک لباس میدوخت.khâhare kuchak barâye arusak lebâs midukht |
Compound Verbs
With compound verbs, like بازی کردن (to play) or تاب خوردن (to swing), the prefix می attaches to the verbal part of the compound, while the non-verbal part stays at the front.
| We used to play with toys after school. | ما بعد از مدرسه با اسباببازیها بازی میکردیم.mâ ba'd az madrese bâ asbâb-bâzi-hâ bâzi mikardim. |
| Sometimes we used to swing with that little playmate. | گاهی ما با آن همبازی کوچک تاب میخوردیم.gâhi mâ bâ ân hambâzi kuchak tâb mikhordim. |